In this video i’m going to discuss an Seo ranking factor that you should Definitely know about and that’s query Deserves freshness otherwise known as Qdf qdf often makes people wtf because It’s confusing that’s why i’m going to Dispel as many myths as i can and also Share how you can use qdf to your Advantage also show you how to optimize For it in short qdf is the algorithm That’s responsible for identifying when Fresh content needs to be displayed to Searchers it functions separately to the Core algorithm and can often take over The search results pages not just Rearranging the results but also Completely changing the user experience And the types of results that show up so Not only is it important to know how qdf Actually works you also need to know how To spot it if it’s an effect for your Keywords and if it is you need to take The right steps to properly optimize Your site for it i’ll be sharing all This and more very shortly in case we Haven’t met i’m matt diggety and i’ve Been doing seo since 2009. over the Years i’ve built a number of Seven-figure seo businesses such as Leadspring the search initiative the Affiliate lab and authority builders and Throughout this time i’ve noticed just How misunderstood qdf actually is sure It’s a lot about content freshness but
It’s not only about updating your Articles every three weeks just to make Google happy there’s a lot more to it Qdf is part of google’s algorithm that Determines whether a person event or Topic is trending or not the most Critical element of this model is time Everything centers around the point in Time a search is being made and we can Often see spikes in google trends data For hot topics for example kim Kardashian hot paris hilton not but what About britney see those trend spikes at The end these make a very interesting Qdf case study which i’ll share with you Later in this video [Music] The qdf algorithm is only interested in Sudden spikes of interest and topics That are trending so an evergreen topic Like seo despite it being on a steady Rise in popularity it just doesn’t get Those dramatic spikes or interest that We saw for the ladies mentioned earlier So it doesn’t trigger the kdf algorithm As i mentioned before many people think It’s about needing to keep updating Their content in order to stay relevant While this is a good practice to get Into and it’s advised by many seo Experts myself included it’s a different Thing to the qdf algorithm as defined by Amit singhal senior vp google fellow and The guy who created pdf it is a
Mathematical model that tries to Determine when users want new Information and when they don’t ameet Created the qdf model in 2007 and it has Been a ranking factor ever since the Model was updated in 2011 following Google’s caffeine algorithm update where Most people go wrong as they think that Qdf applies to all content and all Keywords it doesn’t it only applies to Searches that deserve results with up to The minute information if there’s a Blackout in new york the first publisher Usually a news site will have something Up within 15 minutes but people start Looking for information within one Minute of the event this is a classic Qdf scenario covet makes a great example Of this in action in the early days of The pandemic publishers were freaking The out trying to keep up with all The updates in addition people were Turning to google trying to find the Latest information months down the road Covet became part of the new normal so Spikes in sudden interest weren’t as Strong but there is still constant Coverage and a global need for the Latest news about the situation without The query deserves freshness algorithm It would have been impossible to find The latest information on well anything Something worth noting here is that qdf Is a re-ranking algorithm it overrides
The normal ranking logic that the broad Algorithm uses the qdf algorithm Significantly changes the appearance of Search results favoring timely news and Updates it also makes schema especially Date and event schema more noticeable on The search engine results page make sure To stick around to the end because i’ll Tell you exactly how to implement these Schema editions and other technical Elements for qdf on your site so as You’ve learned already qdf does not Apply to all content there are very Specific circumstances when it kicks in That’s why google constantly monitors Three sources of information determine When the qdf algorithm needs to take Effect the first source is blogs and Online magazines the second is news Portals and the third is a level of Search request more specifically a spike In search volume if all three of these Sources are going nuts about a Particular topic and they are all Considered current that’s when qdf is Triggered to be clear google needs to See an increase in online publications Talking about topic and at the same time It needs to see loads of people looking For that topic too when both sides are Met the qdf algorithm takes effect time Is the most important element we need to Consider here the qdf algorithm tries to Determine what’s the most relevant
Information right now not this week not Even today in many cases its job is to Figure out right at this very second What information is the most up to date If you’re covering breaking content the Qdf algorithm can be your friend if you Publish information about a topic first And if you regularly publish updates About the situation more on that later But for now let’s get into how to Identify if pdf is in effect for your Target keywords before i go there i’d Like to ask if you would freshen up the Status of the like button it deserves a Fast update just as much as qdf topics Do in all seriousness your support means A lot and it motivates me to continue Sharing all my top seo tips each week With that said let’s look at how to know If the freshness algorithm applies to Your target keywords the first thing to Note is that qdf often occurs on a topic Level rather than at a keyword level for Example during the olympics most sports Related searches people make will likely Trigger the qdf algorithm even if they Don’t use the word olympics in their Search if they’re looking for a type of Sport or event that features in the Olympics or is related to it in some way The qdf algorithm automatically assumes That they want the latest information About the olympics it doesn’t matter if One person is searching about gymnastics
And another about swimming both relate To the topic of the olympics and so qdf Kicks in to display the latest Information you can see how qdf Dominates not just the above the fold Section but over half of the page one Search results are designed to offer the Latest information in various formats We’ve got these buttons up here that Don’t exist in most queries the featured Events section here and this metal table Over here on the right even the organic Results when they finally do show up are Interrupted by the video carousel with The latest videos made quite prominent That said it’s not always going to be This obvious to know that qdf has taken Effect on google if you have a hunch That your topics are trending because Everyone’s talking about them take a Look at the serps and see if google is Favoring the latest updates you’ll know That by the obvious features on page one This could be in a newsreel or top Stories it could be a more prominent Date or event schema a video section With the latest videos or something else Along these lines you may even notice People also ask questions are different Depending on what’s trending at the time A search is made in any case you’re Looking for obvious markers that the Search results pages have been changed By google in order to favor up-to-date
Information over evergreen content if You’re ever in doubt google trends is a Great fallback option to check if Something is actually spiking or not With that said let’s look at a few Different scenarios of qdf out there in The wild timeliness is the most Important factor for the qdf algorithm You’ll notice this is a recurring theme In all the following examples for Instance think about your interest in a Product that’s approaching its launch Date let’s take the audi q1 car model in 2013 there were whispers of a new model Set to release in 2016. so as you can See in this trend graph the huge spike In 2013 relates to all the media and News outlets publishing info on the new Audi this is when the whispers all Started so as more people started Searching for the audi q1 well this is Where we queue the qdf algorithm effect The same thing happened again in the Second half of 2015 through 2016 as a Launch date approached we can also see Qdf in effect for product sales for Example apple’s second generation Airpods were released in march 2019 and There was a big sale around november and December of that year the biggest spikes In the graph on the search results we Can also see qdf in effect for the Release of apple’s third generation Airpods notice the newsreel and latest
Information showing above the fold Exactly now product launches and sales Aren’t exactly a fast-moving sort of News topic so anyone searching for a Product would likely be satisfied with News that was a day or even a week old a Situation like kovid moved a lot faster In new cycles when reports of kovan First came out people couldn’t guzzle Down the information fast enough as the World rushed into lockdowns and Legislations were passed in record time Information from a week ago was Considered ancient this is an example of Qdf and circumstances when people are Looking for up-to-the-minute information It’s a digital equivalent to hot off the Press media where we are literally Hanging on the edge of our seats Refreshing google search and news sites To find updated reports on a situation Google search results about hot news Topics often involved a news carousel in The event of covet the entire topic has A custom design results page but this Isn’t typical of all breaking news it Simply depends on how important a topic Is deemed based on how much is searched For and how many publications are Publishing about it too for instance Queries about the latest variants or Vaccinations trigger results pages that Are taken over by the qdf algorithm more Than queries related to legislation
Changes in particular areas we can see a Similar thing during natural disasters Or other unexpected events for example Note the spikes in searches about the Australian brushfires especially in 2019 When they were reported as being among The worst fires in australian history we Get the same effect when we look at the 2019 blackouts in new york during such Events the serp pages change to feature The top stories covering the event with A time stamp showing how long the story Was published another qdf scenario i Haven’t touched upon is celebrity gossip I mean it’s a pretty obvious one i’ll go Into it anyways because it’s a nice Segue into how the exact same search Term can bring about a completely Different results page based on when the Search is happening celebrity births Deaths marriages and breakups spike huge Gossip events that trigger the qdf Algorithm take elon musk’s relationship With grinds in may 2018 they got Together and attended the met gala this Sparked so much controversy at the time That someone created a chrome extension To replace elon musk’s name with grime’s Boyfriend anytime you read about them Online may 4th 2020 they had a baby girl That’s the biggest spike in the middle Here and in 2021 they broke up the third Spike i mean elon musk is a pretty big Deal as one of the world’s billionaire
Scientists on a mission to take us to Mars and all that but the birth of his Baby in 2020 sparked the most interest In him to date Even when we compare this to his company Spacex launched two astronauts into Space for the first time in late may 2020. sure his company received a huge Spike in searches but searches for elon Were nowhere near the level of when his Baby was born these kind of spikes Trigger pdf events in google search and As a result the design of google’s Search engine results page changes Reflecting what people want to see right Now anytime someone searches about elon Musk today they don’t get info about his Baby but in early may 2020 that’s all They would have seen let’s look at how Spikes of interest about a person can Influence search results about a Completely different topic the word Conservatorship has seen a significant Change in the type of results showing up Anytime someone searched for a Definition of conservatorship in 2018 They would have seen a similar classic Definition search result page but the Dictionary definition prominent above The fold similar to what you’re seeing Here however since the free brittany Movement became a thing all searches About a topic of conservatorship bring Up multiple listings featuring the
Princess of pop while it is rare that an Entire topic is remapped by google it is Still possible and this is the biggest Thing to pay attention to if you notice Your topic starting to trend such Changes often mean that the search Intent of a keyword has shifted or it is Now associated with something completely New if interest in a trending topic dies Down pretty quickly the qdf changes also Pass quickly and google search results Go back to how they were normally but in Other cases the change will persist Indefinitely if google determines that There’s still enough reason to show the Qdf modified results so if you don’t Update your qdf affected content Accordingly you won’t stand a chance of Ranking if the change in google search Results persist in the long run google Rewards fast action as far as qdf is Concerned whether that requires you to Be as fast as 30 seconds ago 4 minutes Ago or last week will depend on the Nature of the topic being searched and What is considered current for that Topic either way you need to be prepared For the situation if your niche starts To trigger qdf results now if you’re Wondering how to optimize your content For the qdf algorithm i got your back The typical best practices for content Optimization get thrown out the window Here so here are four steps you can take
To secure qdf ranking step number one Know which keywords and topics are Affected by qdf you’ve already mastered This anytime you get a hint of google Favoring up-to-date current information You need to act accordingly step number Two make sure you can publish fast Without a hitch optimizing for qdf comes Down to content freshness for trending News topics so you need to have all your Ducks in a row beforehand in order to Stand a chance of ranking for instance You need to adapt the structure and Content on your website to reflect Up-to-date events unlike evergreen blog Content you can publish as little as 80 Words on a topic for it to be considered A news item however a minimum of 125 Words is recommended for headlining news Topics and a minimum of 250 words for Non-headlining news topics also the Structure of your content doesn’t need To follow the typical format of Evergreen seo content either given it’ll Be much shorter you won’t need as many Subheadings especially if publishing the Way the newspapers do they don’t have Any subheadings whoever publishes first Can often win a huge ranking advantage But so can publications that do a better Job of posting the latest information on A trending topic you can handle this in A couple ways you can add a new page or Post for every update this is the method
That many news publications take when Monitoring changes in a breaking news Situation for example new york times Publishes a new article on every new Piece of news on kovid but you don’t Need to choose this method you can just Keep the same url and update the content Over time this is ideal if you have a Pillar page that you’re directing links To for instance this url has been number One for covid maps since covet started It doesn’t make sense for a new page to Be posted each time there’s an update in The data either way your biggest Advantage for ranking is the speed of Publishing step number three implement a Google news site map for a news website Or any other site that frequently Publishes headlining news events you’ll Need a dedicated news site map with Details such as the original publish Date and time for each article notice All the new specific items in the Sitemap that make it a quote-unquote News site map the sitemap should be in Xml format and include critical metadata Such as your publication name the title Of the story and the date and time the Story was published your new sitemap Should also update itself automatically And without delay so google can discover All the latest urls it’s important to Note that google only publishes content Posted in the last 48 hours in its
Newsreel if you’re publishing often your Sitemap needs to be able to keep up if Your site is on wordpress it’s a simple Solution for you to use a plugin such as Xml sitemap and google news i’ll drop a Link to it in the description below as For step number four pay attention to Your technical seo implementation and Surprise surprise page loading speed is Critical i’d suggest aiming for a Loading time less than 200 milliseconds Per page all sites should be fast Anyways but there are more rigorous Standards for google news rankings check Out my video on optimizing core web Vitals in the description after you Watch this video also it helps to go Beyond standard schema that’s typically Implemented automatically by plugins Date schema is critical you can see it In action in the fifth row of this Example if you’re using a schema plugin Just check the settings to make sure It’s enabled automatically for all your Content for things like events there’s a Specific schema you can implement in Addition to the date schema this is what It looks like notice the sections for The name of the event the date location As well as supplementary information Like images and who the performer or Organizer is in either case it’s not Particularly difficult to create schema Manually you can use a free schema
Generator like the one offered by merkel Choose event or article depending on What type of content you’re marking up Let’s use the event schema as our Example you can see a section on the Left where you fill out your information And the schema generator automatically Populates on the right once the schema Code is completed copy it and add it Directly to the relevant page on your Site it’s all about making it easy for a Machine to understand all the critical Points of information in your content It’s also worth noting that other Typical seo implementations don’t apply As normal for instance internal links Can get in the way of rankings Especially if they’re implemented using Javascript as do interruptions by ads Social media widgets and other design Elements these types of interruptions Can confuse google’s crawlers and bots If you’re chasing breaking news rankings Make sure your content is together on The page and the focus is a hundred Percent on the story straight after the Headline it all comes down to making Sure your website presents no barriers To google’s crawlers or to users thanks So much for watching please make sure to Subscribe for more videos just like this One